We will implement a Career Development Program for five Project Principal Investigators (PIs) who are close to nationally competitive levels using grant support and mentoring activities undertaken by established investigators. Each Project involves unique, innovative state-of-the-art research. The goal is to help these PIs secure mentored grants or R01 funding within 1-3 years, replacing them with other investigators close to nationally competitive levels, and helping those investigators secure extramural support. By the end of the award period, our goals are 1) to generate mentored grants and R01 funding for at least seven new investigators, and 2) to secure two additional multi-investigator awards. The Projects chosen have significant synergy, which will facilitate the third goal, 3) the submission of a Program Project application (P01) linking at least three of the new R01 awardees with other established investigators. We will also establish a multi-disciplinary Center for Translational Neuroscience (CTN) that will take advantage of the existing faculty strengths and expand the neuroscience research infrastructure, becoming a hub for campuswide collaborations. The CTN will also benefit from the recruitment of two tenure-track, mid- to senior-level, funded investigators who will also become mentors to Project PIs. In addition, three other faculty of junior rank will be recruited during the life of the award, adding to the critical mass of investigators. Additional potential future PIs will be recruited through a Pilot Study award program. The significant institutional commitment for this effort, will be parlayed into independent extramural support for the Center (P50 award) by the end of the award period. The Director of the CTN has experience with large-scale development programs, Program Project grants and has been Federally funded for over 20 years. We will establish a Core Facility and an Experimental Core, to provide an efficient means of ensuring that sophisticated and expensive instrumentation is fully utilized, maintained and operated by trained professionals. We will ensure that Project PIs have access to state-of-the-art services and facilities (through yearly purchases of new equipment), providing the basic underpinnings of the translational neuroscience research efforts at UAMS.